Restrict your liquids and buckle up for the ride. Robert Icke’s multiple Olivier Award Winning Oedipus has landed on Broadway. The writer/director phenom transforms the 2500 year old Greek myth to tell the story of Oedipus, a warm and ambitious politician on an election night that should be full of celebration. Though he is an immigrant whose marriage to the widow of former ruler, Laius, has prompted gossip, his messages of acceptance and affordability have resonated with the voting public. A landslide victory is all but assured. Yet his promises to release his birth certificate and to investigate Laius’s death have stirred concerns among those closest to him. Oedipus’s own uneasiness begins to rise when a futurist cult member, Teiresias, is admitted to campaign headquarters and utters a series of dire warnings. To ensure the now-set ominous mood remains unbroken, the two-hour political thrill ride has a strict no late seating, no re-admittance policy.
On stage for the majority of the running time, Mark Strong manifests a charismatic Oedipus, whose worthy purposefulness has a pronounced shadow side. His chemistry with the radiant Lesley Manville as Jocasta makes their critical relationship positively pop off the stage. Jordan Scowen, James Wilbraham and particularly Olivia Reis are terrific as their flawed offspring Eteocles, Polyneices, and Antigone. (No Ismene exists in this edition.) Joining the production for the US run is the steady John Carroll Lynch as Creon, Oedipus’s affable campaign manager and brother-in-law. Bhasker Patel brings stateliness to the faithful Corin. Though his appearance is short, Samuel Brewer makes an affectively disturbing Teiresias. While it is truth that Merope is supposed to be stressed and guilt-ridden, the usually stellar Anne Reid could use a bit of an energy boost to reach the cheap seats.
As an extension of the election night conceit, the lease is up on Oedipus’s campaign quarters. This allows for the poetic disassembly of Hildegard Bechtler’s industrial modern set, starting with draining the color out of the space. To illustrate the initially relaxed state of the characters, costume designer Wojciech Dziedzic has primarily adorned the family members in athleisurewear, with the formal attire set out for the approaching victory. Tal Yarden’s videos add realism and reminders. The ticking clock and mood music incorporated in Tom Gibbons’ sound design is aural gilding of the tension lily.
For those unfamiliar with Studio 54 (254 West 54th Street), there are a few features to keep in mind. The acoustics are particularly good throughout the space. Though they get you closest to the action, there is almost no rake in the first dozen rows of the orchestra. The front mezzanine, with the previous chair back only reaching to ones knees is a strategic alternative. But the steepness of the stairs left some white knuckling the handrail.
Apologies to Liam Neeson, but it really takes a particular set of skills to tell a story with an ending so infamous it has its own complex and still keep an audience on the edge of their seats. By tethering the tragedy of Oedipus so beautifully to today, Icke infuses what could be a cold classroom flashback with deep humanity and chilling emotion. Tickets are being sold for performances through February 8, 2026. Visit Oedipustheplay.com for details and to purchase tickets.
As Broadway musicals go, the small scale charmer of a flick Groundhog Day doesn’t seem the most obvious of inspiring sources. The comedic drama relies heavily on Bill Murray’s ability to deliver a stinging blow that is somehow forgivable. With the film’s move to the stage, that burden falls on Olivier Award winner Andy Karl as weatherman Phil Conners. He is charismatic and a joy to watch, but his wonderful performance isn’t quite enough to balance out the slightness of the material. The overall experience is theatrical cotton candy: ultimately sweet and instantly vanishing.
The Unforgettable Line 
The Lifespan of a Fact
In this age of high anxiety and bitter divide, it didn’t seem possible that anyone could write a play that was both timely and hilarious. Amazingly The Lifespan of a Fact — based on true events surrounding the development of an article about a Las Vegas teen’s suicide — achieves this blissful combination. Written in vivid detail by nonconformist writer John D’Agata, the original 2005 article was assigned for fact-checking to an ambitious magazine intern, Jim Fingal. D’Agata and Fingal’s conflict over the nature and role of facts spanned seven years and resulted in an essay and a book which in turn inspired Lifespan’s script by Jeremy Kareken & David Murrell and Gordon Farrell. With so many fingers on keyboards, this production could have been a cacophonous mess, but the logic and story are sound. Fingal’s on stage persona makes a strong case for journalistic integrity and thorough research. Equally persuasive is D’Agata’s viewpoint that the right words, however poetic, are needed to attract and hold readers’ attention. Perhaps most importantly for Lifespan’s audience, their 90 minute argument elicits many cathartic chuckles.
The well crafted material hits the intended target in large part because of the wise direction of Leigh Silverman. She has a keen instinct for when to punch up the humor without going too broad. Rather, she peels back the layers of each of the three characters in slowly building rhythm. She has the great advantage of being blessed with a magnificent cast, each of whom has an incredible sense of pace and timing. Charmingly obsessive in his role of fact checker Jim Fingal, Daniel Radcliffe is physically taut and verbally cranked to 11. He prepared for the role by actually working as a fact checker for New Yorker magazine, which clearly gave him a strong foundation on which to draw character details. His opponent in the battle of wits, writer John D’Agata, is bought to irritated life by a blustery and brilliant Bobby Cannavale. That the two actors are nearly a foot apart in height adds a shiny layer of physical humor on top of their perfectly orchestrated banter. Standing between them with a commanding hand and a touch of grace is the charismatic Cherry Jones as the magazine’s editor, Emily.
Many hands add their own magical touch to bringing out the best in the piece. Mimi Lien’s scenic design includes some smile-inducing details. Linda Cho’s costumes give good visual cues. The playwrights have raised the stakes by putting their characters on a four day deadline. Projections by Lucy Mackinnon and music and sound by Palmer Hefferan keep us on edge as the clock ticks stressfully onwards towards publication day.
Suitable for teens and up, The Lifespan of a Fact brings much needed smart laughter to Broadway’s fall season. Though the ending may be unsatisfying to some, the overall experience is everything you want from an afternoon or evening at the theater. It is playing at Studio 54, which has particularly good sight lines. Tickets for performances through January 13, 2019 are for sale at https://www.lifespanofafact.com and on most entertainment apps. A limited number of affordable $40 seats are available for purchase in-person at the Studio 54 box office for same-day sale.